Short Stories - Literary Devises Title: Identities
Point of View:Omniscient narrator
Protagonist: Driver of the Mercedes
What type of character is the Protagonist?The driver is a round character. We know this because of the flashback to his childhood, his family, and all the other details we are given.
Antagonist: The nervous rookie police officer is the accidental antagonist in Identities.
Describe the setting: The setting in Identities changes from a well-to-do neighbourhood in the present to a flashback to his childhood in the country, and then to a run-down neighbourhood in the present again. The mood changes from cheerful to cautious to scared, and then to relieved.
Type of Conflict: Man vs. Man
Describe the main conflict: The main conflict is between the police officer and the driver of the Mercedes. It takes place when the officer pulls the driver over to see if he stole the car.
Describe the Climax of the Story:The climax of the story is when the police officer tells the man to put his hands up and the driver goes for his wallet.
How does the Protagonist change over the course of the story? The protagonist’s mindset changes for nostalgic to adventurous to nervous over the course of the story. For the reader, the protagonist essentially stays the same: middle class man with a family.
Describe the relationship between the title and the theme. The theme of the story is mistaken identification. The police officer thinks the driver is a thief, so when the driver goes for his wallet to prove he isn’t dangerous, the police officer shoots him. The relationship between the title and the theme is that identity is based on perception, and is not easy to change. How does the main conflict help to illustrate the theme? The main conflict is the driver’s death. Other characters in the story misidentify the driver, and as a result, he dies.
How does the climax help to illustrate the theme? The climax is when the police officer asks the man to put his hands up, and he reaches for his wallet. This helps to illustrate the theme because the man dies because of his identity is perceived differently by himself than by the police officer.
Give examples of each of the following literary terms in the story (use quotes):
Simile: An example of a simile in Identities is “paper clogs the fence like drifted snow.”
Metaphor: An example of a metaphor in Identities is “salmon tins glinting with silver.”
Personification: An example of personification in Identities is “wolves and serpents ride their backs.”
Symbol: An example of a symbol in Identities is: the Mercedes-it acts as a car, but symbolizes wealth and power in an impoverished neighbourhood.
Foreshadowing (give both elements): An example of foreshadowing in Identities is the driver’s thoughts of guilt about not leaving a note for his family about going for a drive. This is foreshadowing his accidental death because he thinks they will be unnecessarily worried, when in fact they have a justified reason to be concerned.
Irony: An example of irony in Identities is:the driver is certain of his safety in the presence of the police officer who then kills him.
Imagery: An example of imagery is the flash-back the Mercedes driver has to when he was a kid (girls on plodding horses, produce stands with glinting salmon tins, car rides, and yellow leaves).
Describe the relationships between the class theme and the story. The driver feels bored in his middle class neighbourhood, and goes looking for humanity. He finds it in the lower-class neighbourhood, but becomes fearful when he thinks he has become a target for robbery. He feels sorry for the lower-class people, but also afraid because he thinks they might be a threat to his safety. This demonstrates the humanity he finds.
Point of View:Omniscient narrator
Protagonist: Driver of the Mercedes
What type of character is the Protagonist?The driver is a round character. We know this because of the flashback to his childhood, his family, and all the other details we are given.
Antagonist: The nervous rookie police officer is the accidental antagonist in Identities.
Describe the setting: The setting in Identities changes from a well-to-do neighbourhood in the present to a flashback to his childhood in the country, and then to a run-down neighbourhood in the present again. The mood changes from cheerful to cautious to scared, and then to relieved.
Type of Conflict: Man vs. Man
Describe the main conflict: The main conflict is between the police officer and the driver of the Mercedes. It takes place when the officer pulls the driver over to see if he stole the car.
Describe the Climax of the Story:The climax of the story is when the police officer tells the man to put his hands up and the driver goes for his wallet.
How does the Protagonist change over the course of the story?
The protagonist’s mindset changes for nostalgic to adventurous to nervous over the course of the story. For the reader, the protagonist essentially stays the same: middle class man with a family.
Describe the relationship between the title and the theme.
The theme of the story is mistaken identification. The police officer thinks the driver is a thief, so when the driver goes for his wallet to prove he isn’t dangerous, the police officer shoots him. The relationship between the title and the theme is that identity is based on perception, and is not easy to change.
How does the main conflict help to illustrate the theme?
The main conflict is the driver’s death. Other characters in the story misidentify the driver, and as a result, he dies.
How does the climax help to illustrate the theme?
The climax is when the police officer asks the man to put his hands up, and he reaches for his wallet. This helps to illustrate the theme because the man dies because of his identity is perceived differently by himself than by the police officer.
Give examples of each of the following literary terms in the story (use quotes):
Simile: An example of a simile in Identities is “paper clogs the fence like drifted snow.”
Metaphor: An example of a metaphor in Identities is “salmon tins glinting with silver.”
Personification: An example of personification in Identities is “wolves and serpents ride their backs.”
Symbol: An example of a symbol in Identities is: the Mercedes-it acts as a car, but symbolizes wealth and power in an impoverished neighbourhood.
Foreshadowing (give both elements):
An example of foreshadowing in Identities is the driver’s thoughts of guilt about not leaving a note for his family about going for a drive. This is foreshadowing his accidental death because he thinks they will be unnecessarily worried, when in fact they have a justified reason to be concerned.
Irony: An example of irony in Identities is:the driver is certain of his safety in the presence of the police officer who then kills him.
Imagery: An example of imagery is the flash-back the Mercedes driver has to when he was a kid (girls on plodding horses, produce stands with glinting salmon tins, car rides, and yellow leaves).
Describe the relationships between the class theme and the story.
The driver feels bored in his middle class neighbourhood, and goes looking for humanity. He finds it in the lower-class neighbourhood, but becomes fearful when he thinks he has become a target for robbery. He feels sorry for the lower-class people, but also afraid because he thinks they might be a threat to his safety. This demonstrates the humanity he finds.
Complete 5/5
Effort 4/5
Content 4/5
Paragraph 5/5
total 18/20